Rail transportation system



p 1942- R. B. CRAWFORD ETAL I 2,296,771

RAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Filed Feb. 10, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 P 1942-R. B. CRAWFORD ETAL 2,296,771

RAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Filed Feb. 10, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept.22, 1942.

B. CRAWFORD ETAL RAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Filed Feb. 10, 1938 4Sheets-Sheet 5 Sept. 22, 1942. R. B. CRAWFORD EI'AL 2,296,771

I -RAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Filed Feb. 10, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 20!!la i'l Patented Sept. 22, 1942 RAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Robert B.Crawford and Marjorie L. Mather,

' Miami, Fla.

Application February 10, 1938, Serial No. 189,730

2 Claims.

This invention relates to rail transportation systems, and moreparticularly is directed to systems in which the speed obtainable isgreater than that now attainable in commercial air line transportation.

Rail transportation has in recent years keenly felt the competition ofcommercial airlines and buses. While it is a safe mode of travel,nevertheless the present demand in transportation is not only safety,but also speed and comfort commensurate with dependable service.

The present invention contemplates, broadly, a means of railtransportation that will give maximum speed and yet retain allrequirements of safety, dependability and comfort. The present railroadfacilities, including road bed, equipment and the like, are inadequateto cope with the present demand for high speed service, that is, speedsrunning up to three and four hundred miles per hour. The dependabilityof schedules and the safety required by business travelers has thus fardefeated the widespread use of air transportation, which of coursealways has to cope with weather conditions.

We propose to provide a rail transportation system in which the carsthemselves are substantially hermetically sealed enclosures having meansfor continuously supplying properly conditioned and treated air atsubstantially atmospheric pressure to the interior of the car. The airtreating means is of high efficiency and operates with a minimumexpenditure of energy.

The cars or train of cars is propelled through a duct or air tightjacket which has been evacuated to the necessary degree to provide ation and control which such'a system may entail. Such details will becovered in subsequent disclosures, the present disclosure being directedto the system as a whole.

In creating the desired air conditions within the body of the parlorcars, which must be maintained at substantially atmospheric pressure, weprefer to manufacture and produce the desired conditions and presurerather than employ oxygen from pressure cylinders and other conditioningapparatus such as commonly employed on submarines, although it is to beunderstood that such latter methods of supplying the properlyconditioned air fall within the scope of the present invention. However,the air treating and conditioning system herein disclosed is believedmore economical in operation and results in a better conditioning of theair for this purpose.

Another feature of the present invention resides in the provision of asealed car or train adapted to be propelled through an enclosed duct ortunnel, in which the tunnel may be evacuated forwardly of the car andair under pressure forced into the tunnel rearwardly of the car toassist in its propulsion and thus increase the speeds attainable, thecar itself reacting similar to a piston in a cylinder under thesepressure conditions.

Still another feature of the present invention is the provision ofsuitable means at stations, depots and terminal points in the system formoving the car into sections of the duct or tunnel which can beautomatically shut off from the tunnel for the course of the train orcars in which little or no air resistance to movement of the train isprovided. It is of course necessary to provide a tunnel construction, orduct, which will suit the topography of the country traversed, and thepresent construction is therefore adaptable for bridges, crossings andunderground tunnels through mountains and the like. For this reason theair treating means is made a substantially integral part of the car ortrain, and operates entirely independently of outside sources duringtravel of the car. From experimentation we believe that with the presenttype of transportation system speeds as high as 500 miles per hour willbe obtainable.

The present invention is intended to disclose broadly the mainunderlying features which make possible a transportation system such asdisclosed herein, and it is not intended to cover the many smallerdetails of mechanical construcmain duct or tunnelways between variouslocations, and which sections can then be brought up to atmosphericpressure so that the passengers may enter and leave the cars in perfectcomfort.

Another object attained by the present invention resides in the improvedcar construction which can be employed in such a system. The cars can beof extremely light weight, since they are running in an enclosedchamber, and the interiors of the cars are arranged for maximum comfortand convenience. Since the speed is suflicientlyhigh so that noovernight service need be provided, the cars can all be of the parlor orlounge car type with all interior conveniences of a private home.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear morefully from the following detailed description which, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, will disclose to thoseskilled in the art the particular construction and operation of apreferred form of the present invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional view through a car and tunnel constructionembodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a partial transverse sectional view through one of the cars;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the manner in whichthe train may enter a loading and unloading section of the system;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view showning a preferred form of airconditioning the interior of the car;

Figure 5 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of a modified form ofconstruction;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of Figure 5;

Figure '7 is-a longitudinal section view of a still further modificationof the system;

Figure 8 is a transverse section taken substantially on line 8-8 ofFigure 7; and

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic view showing a modification of the airconditioning system.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, we have shown in Figure l thetube H), which is in the form of an elongated tubular duct or tunnel, ofsturdy construction and preferably fabricated of steel or a similarmetal; although, it may also be formed of concrete, brick work or otherbuiltup material, and which is suitably supported by means of thesupports 12 and the central cradle support 13 which may be of earth,rock or the like.

The tunnel then is provided adjacent its lower portion with the rail ortrack members [5, which may be of more or less standard construction,suitably anchored on the abutments l6 formed within the tunnel. Disposedwithin the tunnel is a car, indicated generally at 20 and shown more indetail in Figure 2, the car having the generally cylindrical bodyportion formed preferably of light weight metal such as aluminum orlight weight alloys such as commonly used in aeroplane construction.

The car is preferably provided with a plurality of driving trucks,indicated generally at 22, which are provided with center bolstersupporting members 23 adapted to receive the bolster pins 2% carried byrecessed portions 25 of the car body. Suitable soft rubber cushioningmembers 26 and 2? are provided for cushioning the weight of the vehicleon the trucks, and resilient spring means 28 is disposed in the member23 and extends above the bolster pin 24 for resiliently supporting thecar on the trucks and adapting the trucks for substantially universalmovement with respect to the car body. Obviously, this type of bolsterconstruction may be varied within the scope of the present invention andwe do not intend to be limited to the particular details shown. Each ofthe trucks is providedwith a pair of driving axles 29 having the wheels30 adjacent the ends thereof, the wheels having relatively deep flangesfor guiding the car on the rails l5. The ends of the axles are mountedin suitable journal boxes 32.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 1, each of the axlesis adapted to be separately driven by an electric motor indicatedgenerally at 33, one of the motors having drive means extendingrearwardly to the rear axle of the truck through suitable gear means 34,and the other motor having forwardly extending drive means forconnection to the forward axle. Intermediate the trucks, the cylindricalportion of the car body is continued as indicated at 35 in order tocomplete its streamline appearance and to more or less completely shroudthe truck members in order to reduce air resistance. Adjacent its upperend and substantially centrally of the car body there is disposed atrolley contact member 38 suitably supported for rocking movement on atrunnion member 39 carried by a resiliently mounted pedestal support 40,which is adapted to have contacting engagement with a suitable currentconducting trolley 42 carried in insulated relation at the top of thetube ID. This supplies the electric power for driving the motors 33, andalso for energizing the various auxiliary equipment such as the lightsin the car and the air conditioning equipment.

In order to prevent swaying of the car during its high speed travel, thetube is preferably provided with suitable restraining guide members 43disposed in angular relationship to be respectively engaged byrestraining spring mounted roller members 44 carried on the outersurface of the car body, These rollers prevent any appreciable lateralmovement of the car within the tube l0. Suitable contacts for openinggates at loading and unloading stations or the like are provided by thebrush member 46 carried by the car body and adapted to engage suitablecontact shoes 41 disposed at the desired locations within the tube.

Considering the details of the car construction, it will be noted thatthe car body, as shown clearly in Figure 2, is divided into a pluralityof longitudinally spaced passenger compartments 50, each compartmentbeing separated from the adjacent compartment by partition members 52which enclose the cross bracing diagonal reinforcing members 53 shown inFigure 1. Disposed at one lateral side of the car is a passageway oraisle 54 which runs along the length of the car and communicates withthe respective compartments through doorways 56 and steps 51 leadingdown into the compartments. At opposite ends of the aisle 54 there areprovided toilet facilities, such as indicated at 5|, including washbasins, chemical toilets and the like. A main entrance and exit doorway58 is provided in the side wall of the car body 20, and when closed,provides for hermetically sealing the interior of the car from theinterior of the tube I0. The compartments 50 are arranged to receiveparlor car seats or the like indicated at 59, and the car itself may beof articulated construction as shown in Figure 3 with the front and rearends formed as tapered nose portions 60 and 62. These portions of thevehicle may be used for storage space and for the accommodation of theair conditioning equipment for the interior of the car.

Considering now in detail Figure 4 in which we have diagrammaticallyshown the air conditioning system for the interior of the car, thissystem essentially comprises a hot water tank 10 and a cold water tank12 disposed at one end of the car, the hot water tank being connectedthrough the line 13 to the wash basins and drains indicated generally at14. The pipe 15 conducts cold water to the wash basin and drains in asimilar manner, and from each of these members 14 there is provided adrain line 16 communicating through the line H with the water filter 18.

From the filter 18 the purified water is led to an electrolyzing cellindicated generally at 19 having an oxygen compartment and a hydrogencompartment 82, into which the two disassociated constituents of thewater are respectively conducted. The contacts for energizing this cellare indicated generally at 83 and may be connected through any suitablemeans to the power supply for the car.

From the oxygen cell 89 the oxygen is led through the line 94 to asuitable T connection 85 from which a portion of the oxygen is conductedthrough the ozone forming chamber 86 through the line 91, this chamberbeing energized by suitable means actuated through the contact 89. The

ozone is conducted from the chamber 86 through the line 89 to a controlvalve 99, from which its discharge into the interior of the car throughthe grill 92 is controlled by means of the control member 93 actuatedthrough a suitable sensing device 94 disposed within the car andresponsive to the oxygen content in the air within the passengercompartments. The remaining portion of the oxygen is passed through theline 95 and through suitable mixing apparatus to the heater 96, whichheater is fed directly through the line 91 from the hydrogen cell 82.The heater 96 is adapted to heat the hot water tank 19, and suitablethermostatic control means 98 is provided for controlling the flow ofhydrogen to the heater 96 through the valve 99. The pressure of theoxygen used for supporting combustion at theheater is controlled throughthe valve I99 by means of the pressure sensing device I92.

While this is one way in which heat may be produced, we find that foreconomy it is preferable to employ straight electric heating for heatingthe water and the air when required. This latter method also eliminatesthe necessity of hydrogen production.

The air conditioning system proper for the interior of the car 29, inits broadest sense, comprises means for withdrawing the vitiated airfrom the interior of the compartments 59, and passing this air through acooling and dehumidifying unit I94 disposed at one end of the car. Thecooling and dehumidifying unit I94 is adapted to receive cold water fromthe tank I2 through the line I95, and the water is returned to the tankthrough the line I96 controlled by the pump I91. A suitable drain I99 isprovided for the unit I94 and is connected through the line I99 .to themain drain line 11 leading to the water filter I8.

The tank I2 is provided with a float control mechanism II9 forcontrolling ,the operation of the motor II2 which, in turn drives thewater vapor machine II3 having its l xhaust II4 open to the interior ofthe tube I9. The chilling of the water in tank I2 occurs due to thevaporization of part of the water, which occurs because of the highdegree of vacuum in the space above the water. This is the well knownuse of water as a refrigerant. Due to the greatly reduced pressure inthe tube I9, into which the water vapor from the water vapor machine H3exhausts, a small motor H2 and water vapor machine I I3 may be used,whereas, if the exhaust were subject to atmospheric pressure, themachinery would have to be so large and heavy in order to take care ofthe volume of the very large expansion of the water vapor and maintain ahigh vacuum above the water level in tank I2, that the use of this typeair conditioning in a car or train of the type described would not bepractical. Thus, the air withdrawn from the interior of the compartments59 is passed through the cooling and dehumidifying unit, and in thisunit is brought to the proper temperature and humidity condition throughsuitable control means (not shown) and is then discharged back rsuitable gate means into the compartments. In order to make up for theconsumption of oxygen by the occupants of the compartments, the ozoneline 89 is adapted to discharge ozone into the compartments at a ratesuch as to replenish the oxygen being consumed. Thus, a very economicaland highly efficient air conditioning system for the interior of thesealed car is provided, since the electrolyzing cells are capable ofemploying the waste water as a source of ozone, and also as a source forfuel for producing hot water. Obviously, under certain conditions, itmay be desirable to provide connection from the hot water tank I9 tosuitable coils in the cooling and dehumidifying unit I94 in-order toraise the temperature of the air whensuch increase in temperature isfound desirable. During this time, of course, .the cooling action of theunit is discontinued.

Considering now the details of Figure 3, when the train is approachingthe terminal station, it is desirable to isolate the section of the tubewithin which the train is to stop and admit air thereto in order tofacilitate loading and unloading of the passengers. For this purpose weprovide II5 operated through suitable control mechanism IIB controlledby .the contact of the shoes 46 on contact plates 41, whereby, as thetrain passes the first shoe 41, the

gates II5 are lowered, isolating the portion of v Thus, after the trainhas moved into the section of the tube isolated by the gates H5, air isadmitted to the interior of the tube and the pressure is raised until itis substantially the same as .the pressure within the interior of thecar, as sensed by the pressure control mechanism I23 communicatingthrough the car wall. This may be automatically connected to open thedoor 58 and allow the passengers to enter and leave the car in perfectcomfort. As the car is again in condition to continue its journey, theforward portion of the car engages the contact 41' which operates toraise the gates I I5, and may, through suitable control mechanism, alsooperate to evacuate the space between the gates. The car is then readyto pass outwardly of the isolated section to its next station.

It may be desirable to provide suitable emergency air vents at intervalsalong the tube, and these may be employed to increase the air pressurewithin the tube whenever the auxiliary safety pressure control indicatesa fall in atmospheric pressure within the car. These vents may becontrolled by suitable electric contact means operated from within thecar or from a master station control under the control of the operatorin the car, since it is contemplated that the cars will be equipped withsuitable telephone or wireless control with a central station operator.

If desired, the tube may be so constructed that one isolated section,such as indicated in Figure 3 at I39, is employed as an unloadingsectionand an adjacent isolated section such as indicated at I 32 may beemployed as a loading section, in which case, the machine I29 is alsoconnected to the section I32 through the inlet I I8. It maybe desirable,under some conditions, for certain high speed trains not to stop atintermediate control points, and for this reason the sections I39 andI32 are suitably connected through the exhaustor I29 so that the air maybe evacuated therefrom and the gates raised in order that through orexpress trains will encounter no resistance while passing through suchsections.

The present design is based on a system which is absolutely safe. Inaddition to the regular pressure control mechanism there is an auxiliarypressure safety control its which, in the event of a substantial fall inpressure, opens ports to allow the tube to come to atmospheric pressure.However, prior to this action, the mechanism is adapted to actuatesuitable indicating means in the operators cab whereby the operator mayadjust the pressure manually or check the operation of the automaticpressure control means. Additional pressure controls operated at pointsintermediate the pressure settings of the automatic pressure controlmeans and the safety vacuum release may be installed to bleed in oxygenfrom storage drums and to operate additional air conditioning equipmentif such additional safety features are found necessary.

It may be advisable and is within the scope of the present invention toprovide air pressure building apparatus in the vacuum tube design ofcar, which will assist in evacuating the tube by constantly removing aportion of the remaining small quantity of air in the vicinity of thecar. This is accomplished by employing a funnelshaped suction port onthe nose end of the car.

The consequent reduction in air resistance at the nose end of the carwill increase its possible speed and also insure an additional source ofair for emergency use in case of failure of the mechanical airconditioning means.

The details of the particular manner in which the train may be stoppedand th pressure within the adjacent portion of the tube built up toallow comfortable discharge of the passengers may be varied widelywithin the scope of the present invention, and we do not intend to belimited to the particular detailed construction shown in Figure 3.

Similarly, the floor plan and interior design of the cars themselves canbe designed to conform to any style, and arrangements can be made foradapting the cars for any distance of travel if found necessary.

Considering now the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 5 and6, we provide a tube 650 corresponding to the tube E of Figure 1, withinwhich are disposed rail members II which are disposed in suitablerecesses I52 formed in the base of the tube and outwardly beyond thecircumferential internal surface thereof. The

car I54 is provided with the wheeled trucks I55 for guiding it along therail members, and these trucks, if desired, may be driven throughsuitable electric motors I56 in a manner similar to that described inFigure 1.

In this embodiment of the invention the car body is cylindrical in shapewith pointed nose and tail portions, and substantially completely fillsthe cross section of the tube. Intermediate its ends, the car body isprovided with annular sealing rings I51 which correspond to the pistonrings employed in piston constructions. Thus, the passage of air orfluid under pressure is prevented, and consequently, the car may bepropelled at extremely high speeds by creating a vacuum at the front ofthe car and creating a greater than atmospheric pressure at the rear ofthe car.

We preferably provide for driving the car through the wheeled trucks I55by means of suitable electric motors, but at the same time may 75 assistin increasing the speed of the car by producing a vacuum forwardly ofthe car and a pressure rearwardly thereof. This is accomplished byhaving the tube in front of the car at subatmospheric pressure. As theforward part of the car passes over contacts I60, the control I62 stopsthe motor I63 driving the evacuator I04 and simultaneously actuates thecontrol mechanism I65 for closing the exhaust valve I66. At the sametime, the rear portion of the car passes over a separate set of contactsI which, through the control I12 operate the valve mechanism 613 to openthe valve I14 providing communication to the interior of the tubethrough the line I which may be under atmospheric or greater pressure.

Contacts 860 and I10 are disposed at suitable intervals throughout thelength of the tube, depending upon the length of the train and therequired amount of distance traversed by the train in the time it takesto produce the desired operation of the various mechanisms. Wepreferably provide a suitable intake fan H16 at the rear of the carwhich draws air from the interior of the tube I into the interior of thecar if it is necessary to raise the air pressure within the car toatmospheric pressure. This fan may be suitably driven from an electricmotor or the like operated by suitable pressure control mechanism 8W,which responds to the fall of the air pressure within the car to actuatethe fan for supplementing the self-contained air conditioning unit. Itis within the scope of the present invention to provide means forconnecting the exhaust from the evacuator I64 directly to the intakeline I15 in order to produce an increase in pressure at the rear of thecar above atmospheric. This is of considerable economy since thedischarge from the evacuator must necessarily be above atmosphericpressure. Under such conditions, the fan I16 may be eliminated, and thecontrol I11 may provide for the opening and closing of a suitable grillthrough which the air can be admitted to the interior of the car if thepressure falls below atmospheric.

Considering now the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 7 and8, we provide a tube 200 having at its upper end a raised portion 202housing the rail members 203 upon which the car body 204 is supported bymeans of the wheeled trucks 205. The car in this embodiment of theinvention is therefore suspended from the rails 203 and is guided toprevent lateral swaying movement by means of the spring mounted guiderollers 206. Suitable contact shoes may be carried by the trucks 205 tocontact a trolley 201 disposed at the upper surface of the portion 202of the tube in order to supply current for driving the trucks throughsuitable electrically operated drive means.

As a variation of this type of drive or to supplement the same, we mayprovide the motor 2 I! at the rear portion of thecar adapted to drive apropeller 2 I2 which acts upon the air at the rear of the car to pushthe car at high speeds through the tube, the portion of the tube aheadof the car being under subatmospheric pressure as described inconnection with Figure 5.

It is to be understood that both the cars I54 and 204 are therebyprovided with air conditioning equipment substantially as described inconnection with Figure 4, and that the tubes I 50 and 200 are adapted tobe formed of metal or any other suitable material and suitably supportedupon earth or fabricated structures. The details of crossing sections,bridges, tunnels and the like do not form a part of the presentdisclosure, and are therefore not described herein.

Instead of, or auxiliary to the air conditioning system described, adehumidifying system of the well known type using a brine spray, may beutilized. In order to remove the absorbed mois ture from the brinesolution to effect reconcentration of it, a system such as shown in Fig.9 may be used.

We have found that the regeneration of an absorbing solution used forchemical dehumidification is capable of much more eiificient operationwhen carried on in a partial vacuum such as is found at the rear end ofthe car of the present invention. The system which we prefer to employwill be the standard type of brine solution which is heated to drive offthe absorbed water and the concentrated solution is returned to thedehumidifying portion'ofthe air conditioning system. As shown clearly inFigure 9, the dilute solution from the dehumidifier is passed throughthe conduit 200 into a long counter-current contact with a coil 202leading from the compressor 203. The flow of the dilute solution iscontrolled 'by the valve 204 responsive to the humidity control member205, and the weak solution which may be at a temperature or 80 degreespasses for a considerable distance in counter-current heat exchangecontact with the coil 202. The weak solution is drawn into the flash pan206 where it is hot, and the water vapor is sucked off into thecompressor 203. From the compressor the water vapor is discharged intothe other side of the heat exchanger through-the coil 202 whereby itcondenses and provides the heat for assisting in evaporating theabsorbed water out of the brine solution. The concentrated solution fromthe flash pan is directed back to the air conditioning system throughthe pipe 201, and since it passes through the heat exchanger, itstemperature is approximately 80 degrees, as is also the temperature ofthe water being discharged through the conduit 202. It will thus be seenthat the system is highly efficient, and is controlled solely by theamount of solution passed into the heat exchanger through the valve 204and the speed of the compressor which controls the capacity of theregenerating means.

The condensing of the water by means of the compressor produces the heatrequired for assisting in the evaporation of the water from the dilutesolution, and consequently the concentrator is operated at high emciencywith substantially no heat losses and no energy requirements outside ofthe effort required to force the solutions through the coils of pipe.

By reason of the vacuum existing at the rear We are aware that variouschanges and modifications may be made in cer structural parts disclosedherein, and we do not intend to be limited to any particular carconstruction or running gear arrangement, but only insofar as defined bythe scope and spirit of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A device of the character described. comprising a tube through whichcars are adapted to move at a high rate of speed, a car in said tubeconformed to the inside of said tube, friction reducing supporting meansbetween the car and the tube constructed and arranged to enable the carto travel rapidly through the tube, air resistance reduction meansexternal to and inym details of the dependent of said car for reducingthe pressure within the tube on the front of the car and for increasingthe pressure in the tube on the rear air temperature, humidity andpressure conditions within the car.

2. A device. of the character described comprising a tube through whichcars are adapted to move at a high rate of speed, a car in said tube,friction reducing supporting means between the car and the tubeconstructed and arranged to enable the car to travel rapidly through thetube, air resistance reduction means external to and independent of saidcar for reducing the pressure within the tube on the front of the carand for increasing the pressure in the tube on the rear of the car,thereby serving to assist in the propulsion of the car through saidtube, independent propulsion means carried by said car, means formaintaining the air conditions within the car satisfactory for humans,and air flow control means in therear portion of said car and incommunication with the air in said car and with the air in said tube foraffecting and changing the relative air conditions between the interiorand exterior of said car.

ROBERT .B. CRAWFORD. MARJORIE L. MA'I'HER.

